The Three Little Pigs

May 1, 2012

Happy May 1st, blogging Moms!  Today, we are reading "The Three Little Pigs" and focusing on the letter P, the color pink, sequencing and rhyming words.

Theme:  The Three Little Pigs

Materials Needed:  pink construction paper, scissors, google eyes, glue, crayons or markers and pink pipe cleaners.

Developmental Skills:  Letter sound and recognition, beginning word sounds, color identification, short vowel "i" words, sequencing, fine motor skills

Activity:
Read the story of The Three Little Pigs to your child.  Use different voices for the different characters and read with a lot of expression.  By modeling voice and expression, it will help your child to develop their own oral reading fluency as they get older.  Oral reading fluency is necessary for reading comprehension.
On pink paper, trace a large letter P and outline it in black marker, an oval for the body, 2 ears and 3 legs.  Let your child cut these out with scissors.  Assemble the shapes into a pig, as you see in the picture.  Add google eyes and details.  Glue on the tail using a pink pipe cleaner, or ribbon.  Glue the pig on to a blue background paper.
The Three Little Pigs is a perfect story to teach simple rhyming words.  Using index cards, write the letters "ig" on one card in black.  Write the letters p, b, w and d on separate cards in red.  Help your child to build words using the cards, i.e. pig, big, wig and dig and read them out loud.  If you would like to extend this activity, draw a picture of a big pig with a wig digging in the mud. 

Extension Activities:
Discuss sequencing with your child.  Which house does the wolf go to first, next and last?  What would happen if the house made out of bricks was the second house?  How would that change the story? 
Mix red paint and white paint to make pink.  Your child can finger paint or make thumbprint pigs by dipping his/her thumb in the paint and adding piggy details.
There are many cute craft ideas on the internet including paper bag puppets and paper plate masks.  You can download free coloring pages to accompany the story. 

Teacher's Tip:

Echo reading encourages your child to begin the first steps of the reading process.  Echo reading is when you read a sentence and your child repeats it.  The story of The Three Little Pigs is a wonderful tool for echo reading  For instance, the repetitive phrase "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in" can be anticipated throughout the story.  Again, this is why it is important for you to model expression and tone while reading aloud to your child.  It is essential for young children to be read to out loud every day.  This is a great way to settle down together and end a hectic day in a quiet manner.  These are the moments you will look back on and cherish with your little ones.